U-515

Type

22 ships sunk, total tonnage 140,196 GRT
1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 10,850 GRT
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 6,034 GRT
1 warship damaged, total tonnage 1,920 tons
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 4,668 GRT
1 warship a total loss, total tonnage 1,350 tons

Fate

Sunk at 1510hrs on 9 April 1944 in the North Atlantic north-west of Madeira, Portugal, in position 34.35N, 19.18W, by rockets from two Avenger and two Wildcat aircraft (VC-58 USN) of the US escort carrier USS Guadalcanal and depth charges from the US destroyer escorts USS Pope, USS Pillsbury, USS Chatelain and USS Flaherty. 16 dead and 44 survivors.

Loss position

See the 27 ships hit by U-515 - View the 7 war patrols

Wolfpack operations

U-515 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Westwall (8 Nov 1942 - 16 Dec 1942)
   Unverzagt (12 Mar 1943 - 19 Mar 1943)
   Seeräuber (25 Mar 1943 - 30 Mar 1943)
   Schill 1 (16 Nov 1943 - 22 Nov 1943)

Attacks on this boat and other events

23 Sep 1942
The boat was fired on by the freighter Antonius and dived to escape.

12 Nov 1942
After attacking the British destroyer tender HMS Hecla (sunk) and the destroyer HMS Marne (damaged), the boat was depth charged by the destroyer HMS Venomous, but escaped unscathed. (Sources: Blair, vol 2, page 111)

12 Mar 1943
German U-boat U-515 was depth charged to the west of the Azores, in position 37°10N, 40°21W, by the US destroyer USS Champlin. The U-boat was not damaged. (Sources: Axel Niestlé)

6 Sep 1943
After having tracked merged convoys OS 54 and KMS 25 for the whole day, Henke closed in to attack but was sighted and had to dive. Accurate depth charging by the British frigate HMS Tavy drove the boat down to 820ft (250m), and caused severe damage. Henke managed to escape and broke off the patrol, reaching Lorient on 12 Sept. (Sources: Blair, vol 2, page 409)

18 Nov 1943
While attacking combined convoys MKS 30 and SL 139, U-515 was in turn attacked by several escorts. After escaping, Henke took the boat to the Canary Isles, where he camouflaged her and carried out extensive repairs before continuing the patrol. (Sources: Blair, vol 2, page 459)

5 recorded attacks on this boat.

General notes on this boat

Read about the USS Guadalcanal and her career on our 6-page set. There is a good account of the hunt for U-515.

Men lost from the boat

20 Sep 1942
A gunner from U-515 was killed by a misfire on the 2cm machine gun. [Matrosengefreiter Matthias Biazza]

15 Jun 1944
Following his capture when U-515 was sunk on 9 April, Kptlt. Werner Henke, one of the top aces, committed suicide by pretending to attempt escape from his POW camp on 15 June after being put under psychological pressure by his US captors.

Related: For more info on such losses see - Men lost from U-boats -